The Best Intentions
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: Experimental Fic. Odo has kept his past secret. He was never sent out by the Great Link. Odo chose to leave. Now he must face his past.


Title : The Best Intentions  
Author : Tariq ( formerly Aeris Jade Orion )  
Rating : M  
Pairing : Odo/Kira  
Timeline : His Way  
Summary : Odo has kept his past secret. He was never sent out by the Great Link. Odo chose to leave. Now he must face his past.

Authors note: It's unbeta'd. At the moment I have no beta reader for this genre. So drop me a line if you're interested.

Second, due to health issues, and taking care of my disabled mom, I haven't been able to write much. But over the last several years I've managed to slowly write on a number of stories.

What I've decided to do is go ahead and  
publish what I've managed to put together.  
The stories are unfinished, and sometimes,  
the last chapter I worked on is unfinished.  
Plus, there maybe multiple chapters, each one a different version. Just warning everyone.

So I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer : Not mine. All characters belong to Paramount.

00000  
Prologue  
00000

The leader of the Founders stood on the dusty shore. Piercing blue eyes stared unseeing into the distance. The golden ocean barely registering.

" Elder, you must see reason. "

He could percieve the very young female moving to his side. Unlike him, her face remained unfinished and waxy. The other changelings way of insulting solids.

" I am not the one being unreasonable. " He answered gently.

" Solids can not be trusted. " The Founder stepped into his line of sight. " We must take our rightful place and impose order. Only then can we be safe. "

Sadness flooded his soul at the words. A single Changeling spoke them, but they reflected the consensus of the Great Link.

" Why? " He asked. " They haven't attacked us. We've been welcome in several systems. "

" We are Gods! " The female scoffed. " The solids are messy, limited pests! Their life spans are short, and their bodies fragile! "

" Perhaps, but they have things we lack. Evolution, love, a level of creativity we could never match. " He murmured.

" Death, weapons, hatred, bigotry. " She argued.

" I could say the same for us. " He stated in disapproval.

She recoiled in shock and denial. Her mask shimmering in her lack of control.

" You also forget an important fact. " The Elder continued. " Our continued existence depends on the solids you dispise. "

" You're wrong! " The Female exploded.

The leader sighed and stared back into the distance. There was nothing hidden from him in the Link. He had known everything they were thinking and planning.

" You wish to deny our biology. To make it so we can't reproduce. " He said.

" No child born of a solid will be welcome in the Great Link. " The Female defied. " All children will be destroyed. Along with the parents responsible. "

" Have you forgotten who I am?! " His anger finally showing. " I am the last of the Elder's! One of the first born of our father! I lead the Dominion, not you, and certainly not the other younglings! My word is law! "

" The Great Link are one! We all agree! " The Founder argued. " We will not follow the whimsical orders of a sympathizer! "

It had been coming for centiuries. One by one the other's had turned away from the genetic memories left by their father.

Over time they had stopped leaving the Link. No longer exploring their abilities, and chosing to become lost in the paradise of the Great Link.

Then their egos had grown. Their pride being taken over by a godlike supieriority. With it had come other darker emotions.

The other four Elders, and leaders before him, had accidents. Each one killed with their solid mates and children.

He'd suspected it was certain extreme faction in the Link. Suspicions confirmed when all the other mated Changelings had died painful deaths.

The more neutral Changelings had converted several years later. Their time in the Link overwhelming their own identity.

He tried desperately to stop the catalyst. Argued against denying their very nature. Even made laws requiring their kind to limit the time in the Link.

His beliefs drove the others away. Made them distrust him and his radical ideas. It didn't matter what their father meant for them.

They had fooled themselves into believing he'd made a mistake in their creation. Surely a God of their fathers greatness meant for them to reproduce with their own kind. Never would their father be sympathtic to solids.

" So it's finally my turn. "

" No. " The female answered. " You are the last Elder. We can not afford to kill you. "

" Let me guess. " He scoffed. " I'm to sit quietly in the Link while you take over the universe. "

" We would, of course, welcome your guidance. We are aware you have spent a great many years exploring the solids planets. "

" Of course. And what of the Vorta and Jem'hadar? "

The female Changeling smiled darkly at him. The egotistic satisfaction making him shiver.

" They will undergo alterations. Their DNA will make them completely devoted to their Gods. Suicide implants inserted. Perhaps a drug for the Jem'hadar. Something addictive. "

His hands clenched at the explanation. What had his people become? How could they deny their father in such a way?

" After everything they've done for us, you would enslave them? " He managed to growl. " You would turn them into expandable toys to play with? "

" Yes. "

He finally spun away from her and the Great Link. Anguish filled him at the simple answer. The casual tone like they were speaking of the weather.

" There is something else. " The Founder began. " We have decided to erase the memories of 100 Founders. They will be placed into statis and sent out in all directions. We have great hopes they will attract our fathers attention so that he may correct his mistake. "

" You can't just send them out! There are dangers out there which will kill them! Space anonmlies, predators like the Borg! " The Elder argued.

" So be it. "

This was ridiculus. So completely off the wall insanely ridiculus he was rendered speechless. Never in all his life had he ever heard such illogic.

" You would sacrifice them? Just to lure our father back? "

" Yes. "

" And if it doesn't work? " He inquired.

" We will be conquering the Gamma and other Quadrants. Combined with the 100 we should gain his attention. "

" But if it doesn't? " He reinterated.

" Then we shall send out 100 more. "

He had been afraid of that.

They would keep sending out 100 vulernable Changelings. All without reproducing with solids.

Constantly reducing their numbers. Never replinishing them. Until what? Until they became extinct? Until the day their father came back and condemned their morals?

What about after? What about the damage they would do in the meantime? To the Vorta. To the Jem'hadar. To the solids they planned to conquer.

More importantly, what could he do? He may be the Elder, but he was one against an ocean. He'd be killed if he tried to stop them. Or imprisioned.

Once the alterations to the Vorta and Jem'hadar were complete, he would be without any control. He could try to get them to help him now, before he was too late, but they lacked the weapons to do any damage.

" You will come to see the truth, Elder. When our father comes, he will show you what we already know. "

" No, he won't. " The Elder painfully decided. " Because I won't be here. "

" What do you mean? "

He glanced back at her. Already the female was transforming into a dictating God. Unreasonable, uncaring, immoral.

" I'm leaving. Do with the Dominion what you will, but I will warn you now. Control is an illusion. It won't matter what you do, or what lengths you take. There is always another option. A way to escape. "

It was the last lesson he would give. There was nothing left here for him. His conscience would not allow him to remain.

If he stayed, part of the Link, silent and ignored. It would be the same as supporting this farce, and there was no doubt, it was a farce.

" We are Gods. Our powers make our control absolute. "

" Absolute power corrupts absolutly." The Elder began walking away. " It's an old Solid saying. Funny isn't it? That solids can understand something Gods can't. "

" Gods do not suffer corruption. We are above such primitive conditions. " The Founder called.

The Elder came to the Dominion base. Eris already standing to greet him excitedly. The young woman had been someone he had rescued when she was a child. Since she was an orphan, he had adopted her, causing unrest in the Link.

" Dad! Are you going on another trip? Which planet are you going to explore? "

" We need to go. Now! " He herded her into a nearby shuttle.

" What going on? "

He started the shuttle before the door was closed. Lifting off far faster than was safe.

" Dad? "

" It's happened. " He whispered painfully. " It's finally happened. "

Silence filled the small ship. There was no further explanation needed.

A race of order and balance was about to create injustice and chaos.

00000

" Come with me. "

" I'm sorry, dad. " Eris hugged him. " I must remain with the Dominion. "

" I've told you what they plan. " He held her tightly. " You'll be enslaved. Made into a mindless pet. "

" If I can keep even a scrap of my memories, then I can feed you information. " Eris refused. " The Founders won't leave you alone forever. "

" I don't like it. "

She let go of him. Regret lingering on her teenage face. The Vorta would not be talked out of her plan. He had personally gone head to head with her single minded stubborness numerous times.

" Very well. However, if it gets too dangerous, I'll be in the Alpha Quadrant. I've heard there's a peaceful planet on the otherside of the wormhole. "

He entered the pod. The Elder fighting against his own parental instincts. He wanted to knock out the teen. To ignore her wishes, and keep her locked in a padded room.

" Why the Alpha Quadrant? " Eris frowned in confusion.

He wasn't sure quite how to explain. From the moment he left the Founders, he had been feeling a tug toward that section of space.

" It's where I'm meant to be. " He settled.

If Changelings could cry, he would be. Shutting the door to the lifepod he felt like he had lost everything. His people and his daughter.

" Goodbye, dad. " Echoed into the tiny pod.

" Goodbye. " The Elder trembled. " Daughter. "

But how did one say goodbye to their life?

00000

The Elder stood on the peek of the mountain. Bajor was truely a place of beauty, culture, and peace.

Their language and all it's dialectics had been an experience he enjoyed. It was a creative, descriptive way to communicate. Offering him a worthy challenge.

The religion was interesting. Yet also uncomfortable to him. The idea of the Prophets made him twitchy.

The colors of Bajor was a different matter. It fascinated him. The art, clothes, and vibrant pallete used in everyday life.

This was his home. More than the Great Link had ever been.

However, he was concerned.

Recently Cardassia had been acting strange. There were war ships building in nearby sectors. Communications were ignored.

In the 598 years he'd lived, he'd witnessed history on various planets. Slavery, freedom, war, rebellion, evolution.

Right now, his experiences told him war was on the horizon.

Cardassia was a warrior race. Something Bajor wasn't. When the war happened, Bajor would be subdued, with Occupation when it was over.

The question in his mind was what would happen to Bajor. Evolution would hit them fast and hard. He just wished he knew how they would turn out.

They could end up a slave race. Their DNA adapting to make them subserviant in the extreme. Or they could become a race of fighters.

So what could he do?

He'd been over every kilometer of the planet. Traveled to each providence, town, and village. Learned from their libraries, musems, and temples.

It would all be lost soon. What little could be saved would be hollow shadows of a once great race. Turned into a barren wasteland at the mercy of Cardassia.

It was disconcerting.

He was a single man. An Elder Changeling wearing a human body. An alien welcomed with open arms.

But even a Changeling couldn't win a war single handedly. Worse, when the battle started, he would be the outsider who couldn't be trusted.

There was little in the way of options, and until it happened he wouldn't know what the options were.

For now, the Elder would sit and wait.

00000

Odo Ital.

The Elder had a name at last.

It wasn't in the way he would have chosen. As an unknown speciman in a Bajoran science lab. Much less using a Cardassian word translated to unknown sample.

It was neccassary though.

Many years were spent watching the Occupation. Secretly helping where he could. Trying to work around his own genetic morals in the process.

Finally he realized he needed a way to be exposed to Cardassia and Bajor. But it needed to be done in a way he wasn't a threat.

There had been many scenarios. Possible methods. Each with advantages and disadvantages.

The answer had come from an unlikely source.

Cardassia.

It was no great secret a Cardassian ship had discovered a Founder pod. When it had arrived on Terok Nor he'd snuck aboard. His inspection of the pod had revealed the ashes of a dead Changeling, and his best chance of exposure.

Odo had disposed of the ashes. Then hide in liquid state.

The Cardassian's had found him two days later. Labeling him Odo'Ital. From there he'd been sent to the Bajoran Science Institute.

Being an Elder it was no great effort to fake being a Youngling. He'd simply mimiced his first years of life.

Putting up with the shocks, chemicals, and demands were the hardest part. Dr. Mora used painful means in his excitement. Yet he was better than the Cardassian Overseer.

Seven years he had put up with the abuse. The torture leaving him scarred and physically ill. If he didn't know how to hibernate, he would long since be dead.

Seven years was too much. He couldn't remain any longer. Odo had a harmless history now. Wore a pour imitation of a humanoid face.

It was safe to leave the lab. He would be seen as a neutral party to both sides of the Occupation. Allowing him a certain amount of leeway.

He just hoped he could survive the Occupation with his facade intact.

11111  
Chapter One  
11111

Security Chief Odo curled his humoid body around a sleeping Nerys. His unfinished face caught between bliss and pain.

A month into their relationship had left him unsure. Not about his love, but rather his own biology.

For two weeks his body had begun to produce a linking syrum. A golden water his race injected into their chosen partner.

Their solid mate.

It had a number of functions. It was the equvilant of Changeling marriage. A liquid used to bond themselves togther.

The syruim would allow them to Link when in physical contact. However it also merged with the solids DNA, and organs. Suspending their aging as long as the Changeling lived. It also adapted the Solids body for reproduction.

For two weeks he'd been fighting his every instinct. Suffering intense pain from withholding the injection.

Bajorans didn't marry so quickly. Nor without the permission of the Prophets.

Odo would not be selfish here. He wouldn't force the issue, or go against her beliefs. If he did, he would be no better than the Founders.

The Founders...

Prophets help him.

Should he marry Nerys, they would be continuously targeted by the Dominion. Elder or not, the Founders would never allow a linking to exsist.

Dating her, sleeping with her, anything but linking would be ignored. As long as they never sensed a bonding taking place.

No, until the war was won, he couldn't even mention it to her. Odo would have to just put up with the pain.

Nerys nuzzled his neck with a sniffling all Bajorans made when sleeping. Her arm lazily moved from his waist to mid-chest, squeezing him.

" Sisko to Constable Odo. "

" Wh...? " Nerys blinked.

He tapped the commbadge on the nightstand.

" Odo here. What can I do for you Captain? "

Nerys groaned into his shoulder. The Major was not a good morning person. Not without at least two cups of Rakinjino in her system.

" I need you in the infirmary. We have an injuried Vorta, and she refuses to talk to anyone but you. "

A Vorta?

Odo sat up. There were more male Vorta's than females. He could only make a guess as to why. Personally he felt the DNA of the males were easier to manipulate, but he supposed it could just be a preference of the Founders.

" I'll be there soon. Odo out. "

He threw his legs off the edge of the bed. Instantly dressed in uniform.

" I'm going with you. " Nerys started getting dressed.

Odo attached his commbadge and stood up. Hesitantly watching her move with the speed of a former resistance fighter.

He didn't know which Vorta it was. Muchless why they were here. There could be any number of reasons.

But somehow he didn't think any of them were good. Not for him, and not for Nerys.

He just prayed he was wrong.

11111

" Thank you for coming, Constable. " The Captain meet them at the entrance of the Infirmary.

" What happened? " He demanded gruffly.

Confusion made him forget humaniod pleasantries. Being at war made everything circumstance. The smallest detail questionable.

" That is what I would like to know. " Sisko showed his own frustration. " Ten minutes ago, a lifepod came through the wormhole. It looked like it had been in the middle of a battle, and the only person inside was a Vorta. "

" And she hasn't said anything? " Kira asked.

" Just to ask for Odo. " The Captain explained.

" I suppose I should talk to her then. "

" There's just one thing. " Bashir glanced up from a nearby computer. " The Vorta is dying. Frankly, I have no idea how she's still alive, but whatever the reason, I doubt she'll last much longer. "

Odo frowned darkly.

No Vorta had the ability to cling to life. Not the way free solids did. It was something he never really understood. The way a humaniod could remain living when by all logic they should die instantly.

" Where is she? " He finally asked.

" This way. "

He followed Sisko into the back room. Stepping around the Captain to study the female on the biobed. Instantly wishing to be somewhere else.

A bloody, blackened female Vorta lay in a shuddering mess. Despite the oxygen mask she was panting, fighting for every breath. A thick gash hid the left side of her face. The black hair mostly gone.

Odo stepped closer, eyes wide at the barely identifiable body.

Barely.

He silently cursed the Prophets, the Kai, and several Gods. He swore to the Celestial temple under his breath. Letting Bajoran words flow which would make Quark blush.

" Odo! " Nerys stared in shock.

" F-father..."

Blind, bloody eyes searched the room. The only hand left reaching out.

It took all his self control to step up to the bed. A shaking hand clasping the cold appendage.

" Eris. " He forced out of his closed throat.

" ...th-they... know. " Her breathing came harder. " ...all... clones...destroyed. "

He laid his other hand on her bloody forehead. Trying to calm his churning emotions.

" ...in...infom-mation...n-network... g-gone... "

More curses slipped out. Cardassian this time.

"...c-colo-onies...gone..." The hand slacked then clenched harder. " ...re-resistance ...cells...exec-cuted... "

Prophets.

The damage done was unimaginable. Every safety measure he'd put into place shredded and spit upon.

" What about the smugglers? " Odo asked.

"...no..."

Her heartbeat was fading.

" Eris! " He barked.

She pulled her hand away, fumbling with the red soaked blanket. The pale white fingers clumsily tugged a datarod from her waistband. The dark gold color stained with her blood.

"...forg-give...m-m-me...fath..." It fell from her lifeless fingers. The flattone of the biobed echoing in his ears.

Numbly, he bent down, lifting the rod she had given her life for. The tone went silent under Bashier's orders.

" Odo? "

Nerys touched his shoulders as he stood back up. The warmth making him feel cold and distant.

" Constable? " Sisko gently ordered.

He wanted answers. Now.

It wasn't cruelty on his part. Just simple need.

Captain of a station at the edge of enemy terriory. He was a kind leader, but still a leader.

" I..." He paused unsure. How did he tell the truth after fifty years of lies? " It's a long story. "

" I'm sorry. " Sisko understood. A father himself, he would. " However, I need to know what's going on. "

Because of the Prophets damned war.

He lifted the datarod up and stared at it. On it was years worth of blood, sweat, and tears. Hundreds died to get the information. More were captured, sent to slave camps. Living a life of pain until their bodies finally gave out.

Odo quickly moved out of the exam room, unable to stomach being around Eris's body. He stopped in the Doctors office, keeping his body turned away from the window.

" I was once the leader of the Dominion. The Eldest of Founders, and over 600 years old."

A jerk from Nerys ran into his body. Her fingers sinking into his skin. Odo expected her to pull away in disgust. Maybe anger. Instead she remained against him.

" I was overthrown several years before Bajor was occupied. They offered to let me remain part of the Link, on the condition it was as a spectator. "

" I assume you didn't agree to their kind offer. " Bashier interrupted.

" No. I had my adopted daughter, Eris, take me to Bajor. " Odo agreed.

" And the ship you were found in? " The Captain asked.

" Several years after the Occupation I decided to make myself known, and I couldn't exactly just announce myself. Bajor was suspicious of all aliens, and Cardassia was weary of anyone who might give the Resistence an advantage. Then I heard rumors of a Cardassian ship finding a Changeling pod. With the Youngling dead, all I had to do was hide and wait to be found. "

" Once you were in the lab you could make them think you were harmless. " Sisko finished.

" Yes, sir. " Odo nodded. " Of course, I didn't count on catching Dukat's eye. "

" I bet not. " Sisko smiled slightly.  
" However, what I don't understand, is why you never told us the truth? Your information would have been incredibly valuable to the war effort. "

" Yes and no. " Odo glanced sadly through the window at the clone of his long dead daughter. He had grieved for years after her death. " The Dominion as I know it, is a far cry from what the Founders have created. "

" In what way? " Brashier asked.

" The Founders made sure to reengineer the Vorta and Jem'hadar. Their technology was enhanced as they assimalated other cultures. Their laws were overhauled. " Odo scoffed bitterly. " No Changeling has ever harmed another. "

He tore his eyes away from the window. Anguish resurfacing at the memory of the original Eris and when she died. After so long, he continued to visit her grave on the anniversary of her death. A plain tomb in the foothills of Dakur provience.

" No Captain, my usefulness amounted to nothing but a history lesson. "

Odo knew how he sounded. Disgusted, angry, on the verge of breaking. Maybe he was losing it. Maybe he'd reached to last of his infinite sanity.

" What of Eris? "

His anger faded a little. The wave of appreciation caused by the Captains use of the Vorta's name staggering him.

" Eris was very insistant on being my spy in the Dominion. She managed to keep me informed about their activities. " Odo crossed his arms defensively. " At some point I realized she could only tell me about certain aspects, so I began to search for other informants. Smugglers, Cargo runners, citizens in Dominion terroritory. "

" Then one of my informants offered to start a Resistance. I didn't think it would ever amount to much, but as the months went by it went from a small group to a dozen large cells. "

Odo shuddered at just the idea of a resistance. He hated the Founders and what they stood for, but due to his craving for jusitice, he despised the cells.

" It was a snowball effect. The cells lead to providing supplies and medical aid for war torn planets, which lead to smuggling people to secret colonies we built. "

His form fluctuated. Was it the failure of his actions? The pain of losing a pale imatation of his daughter? The fear of Nerys leaving him?

" I knew the Founders would be angry at my interference. I just never imagined they'd go to such extremes. " He wavered.

" What's on the datarod? " Sisko steered into safer terriotory.

" Everything. Every piece of info my network has ever managed to acquire. " Odo meet the Captains understanding eyes. " Enough to end the war. "

His hand began shaking violently. An extrordinary effort needed to hand it over to his commander.

" There's something else Captain. " Odo hesitanted. " The Founders are dying. They have a few months left, and I have no doubt they will take measures to take as many solids with them as possible. "

" I see. "

The Captain frowned at him. He was inbetween a rock and a hard place.

If they couldn't stop the Dominion fleets before the Founders died, there would be massacures and genocide. But to wipe out the Dominion in what time remained, it would take massive fleets, and a lot of deaths.

" Major, take the Constable home and get some rest. " The Captain ordered. " I have a feeling it'll be a rare commodity soon. "

Plus, he was going to have to face Nerys. A more frightening prospect than a suicidal unit of Jem'hadar.

Prophets help him.

11111

She had dragged him back to her quarters. Yet she hadn't said a word. She was too busy pacing her living room, hands moving from her hair to her hips, and everywhere in between.

" I know your angry. " He decided to venture. " I should have told you after we began dating. "

She nodded absently in agreement, remaining silent.

" I'm sorry. I have no excuse. " Odo tried again.

A snort this time.

" Are you going to say anything? "

" What do you want me to say? " Kira snapped. " That I'm hurt? Angry? That I hate that you kept this secret from me? That you obviously think I can't be trusted?! "

" I do trust you! " Odo stood from the sofa.

" Then why didn't you tell me!? " The major roared.

" I WAS SCARED! " He yelled right back. Stumbling he collapsed into a nearby chair. " I was scared. "

Warm arms engulfed him in a hug. He leaned into her embrace.

" I was scared. " He repeated. " I failed to stop the damn Founders. I was outnumbered. I had no army to help me. "

" It wasn't your fault. " She sighed. " Prophets know I'd be the first to tell you if you were. "

He chuckled weakly. It may be the truth, but it was funny.

" Odo, I have to ask about the Founder. " She pulled back. " During the Dominion Occupation, you two were inseperable. "

" When I was their leader I tried repeatedly to make them see reason. Over and over and over. " Odo grabbed his knees. " Her arrival on the station gave me another chance. One I couldn't ignore. "

" She didn't listen. " Kira laid an arm over his shoulders, letting some of her anger go.

" I can't say I was surprised. Their hatred of solids go far beyond anything you could imagine. "

" Doubtful. " Kira wryly smiled. " I have quite the imagination. "

" Nerys, I didn't tell the Captain why the war started. I couldn't, not until we'd talked. " Odo began.

" Why? "

" The history the Founder's propagate is false. There were no solids hunting us. Nor was the 100 our children. "

" I don't understand. Why lie? "

" Because they hate solids so much they are willing to risk extinction. "

Odo pulled away from her. The familiar want surfacing.

" A single, highly evolved Changeling gave birth to us. Thousands born in an instant. All except five of us were in hibernation. " Odo struggled. " Father linked with the five of us. He gave us his morals, and instructions about reproducing. "

" He hated solids? "

Odo shook his head rapidly. " No! He loves them. So much he made sure we were unable to repoduce unless it was with a solid. "

" Then why would the Founder's hate solids? "

" They didn't. Not at first. We explored surrounding worlds. Befriended the Vorta, and later, the Jem'hadar. We created alliances with humanoid civilations. Our race flourished. A number of us Linked with solids, and had families. "

" I can't say when the trouble started. I know a few of our youngest were skeptical. They wouldn't leave the Link. A few more stopped exploring the galaxy. Then more followed. "

" Oneday a single Changeling didn't return. When I went to check on him, I discovered he was dead, killed. He'd tried to force a Link on a solid woman. It was clearly a case of attempted rape, but the skeptics in the Link thought otherwise. " Odo growled slightly. " It was just a solid afterall. "

" Gradually, others in the Link converted. They had become addicted to the Link. Using it for oblivion instead of to communicate. "

" By then we had several small villages on our homeworld. Two hundred Changelings, including the other Elder's, were married and raising families. The Third Elder brought up the idea of creating a second Link for the skeptics. "

" The same night an accident wiped out him and his family. We knew, of course. To an Elder nothing is hidden in the Link. The Elders met, Prophets knew we dicussed what to do, we argued for days. " Odo sank into his memories.

" We decided there was no choice but to seperate the Link. The Leader would send the solid haters to a planet on the far corner of the Gamma Quadrant. "

" Another accident occured. Two Elders and their familes were killed. One, the Leader. He never got the chance to pass verdict. "

" Prophets. " Kira breathed in horror.

" The Fourth Elder took over. She knew the seperation would never be allowed. The Leader ordered the evacuation of all solids and children. We had no choice but to go to war. "

" The ships never made orbit. Several Youngling's had left the Link so we couldn't read them. They didn't even bother trying to make it look like an accident. Just... killed them. "

Odo had watched the explosions from the port. The fiery debris vaproized by the bombs used.

" They attacked while we were distracted by the destruction. Most of us died instantly. Some managed to defend themselves. The Leader killed herself, taking a dozen rebels with her. I was spared. "

" Because I was the last Elder, the last to have Linked with our father, I became the next Leader. I knew I had to be very careful. There were less than fifty of us left, and the rebels were in the thousands. "

" I couldn't execute them. I couldn't banish them. Instead I tried to persuade them to leave and find solid mates. We needed to replenish our population. Plus if they experienced love they might understand what our father taught us. "

" I can't see them agreeing. " Nerys commented tenderly.

" No. The ones who liked solids were afraid they'd be killed to, and the others refused. It didn't matter if it was a suggestion or an order. " Odo bitterly snorted. " It fell apart shortly after. What was left of our fathers supporters were converted or died, and the rebels made up a new history. "

" Our father made a mistake. He meant for us to reproduce among our own kind. " Odo mocked. " He made us Gods. Solids are primitive creatures. They can't be trusted. "

" Then they overthrew you. " Kira finished.

" Not quite. You see I'm an Elder. They wanted me to Lead. But only if I was willing to go along with their schemes to lure our father back. "

" Your father? "

" Hmph. They honestly believe if they get his attention he'll fix his mistake. "

" Wait! Are you telling me this whole war is over daddy issues?! " Nerys gaped. " That they're throwing a tantrum? "

Odo laughed. His past fading in light of her unique insight.

" I don't believe this. " She mumbled. " We're fighting a war against a group of children angry because they didn't get the toy they wanted. "

" A very concise observation. " He managed.

" You never explained about the whole marriage thing. " The Major suddenly eyed him. " Or about Linking. "

" Ah. " Odo shifted uncomfortably at the tricky subject.

" Well? " Kira interrogated. " Don't you think it's a subject we should discuss? "

" Perhaps. " He allowed. " However since it's a permanent... condition I had thought it better to wait. "

An eyebrow cocked up in disbelief.

" Divorce is almost non-exsistant. " Odo winced under her increasingly disbelieving gaze. He decided to try a different route  
" We've been dating less than two months. Plus any kind of marriage would depend on what the Prophets say. "

The Elder needed to get her mind off the current topic. Quickly.

" Does my age bother you? " He asked.

" No, but I am confused. Is this your real form? "

He let his unfinished body morph into his Gaia persona. The persona he'd once worn before the Cardassian Occupation.

" Which one are you most comfortable in? "

" This one. The other is a form the Founder's use to insult solids. "

" You don't have to hide anymore, you know. If you want to, you can use it again. " She gently reminded. " Whatever you decide I'll support you. "

" I... Thank you, Nerys. "

-  
To Be Continued


End file.
